Pappas Cosponsors Bipartisan, Bicameral Invest to Protect Act

Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) announced he is once again cosponsoring the bipartisan, bicameral Invest to Protect Act, reintroduced in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05),John Rutherford (FL-05), and Steven Horsford (NV-04) this week. This critical legislation would make targeted investments in small and midsize departments with fewer than 175 sworn police officers, providing vital funds for recruitment, retention, training, and officer support.

During the 117th Congress, the bipartisan Invest to Protect Act overwhelmingly passed the House with 360 votes. Other versions of the legislation have also passed the Senate. Despite broad support, a final agreed-upon bill has not yet fully passed out of Congress. This reintroduction renews the effort to deliver critical support to law enforcement officers serving communities across the country.

“New Hampshire’s local law enforcement does critical work to keep our communities and our families safe, and this bipartisan legislation will ensure they have the resources and training needed to do their jobs,” said Congressman Chris Pappas. “By making increased funding available to our local departments, this legislation will improve recruitment, retention, mental health support for officers and ensure they have the support to keep our communities safe. Whether they are keeping deadly fentanyl and other illegal drugs off our streets, protecting individuals from violent crime, or acting as first responders to physical and mental health emergencies, our local police departments do lifesaving work each and every day, and this legislation will help support their work and keep Granite Staters safe.”

The bipartisan, bicameral Invest to Protect Act of 2025 would:

• Invest in officer safety, de-escalation, and domestic violence response training, allowing officers to receive critical training that will make them more effective at their jobs;
• Create grants for small departments to recruit new officers to bolster their departments;
• Provide retention bonuses to keep existing officers as a part of their communities;
• Fund officers’ tuition for graduate studies in mental health, public health, and social work up to $10,000; and
• Allow departments to provide mental health resources for their officers.

The critical need to support small and midsized police departments: 

• The vast majority of law enforcement agencies in the U.S. are smaller than 200 full-time sworn officers.
• More than 94% of local U.S. police departments have fewer than 100 sworn officers.
• Small law enforcement agencies protect and serve our communities with strained resources and growing needs for additional support, training, and funding. 

Read the full bill text here.

The bipartisan Invest to Protect Act is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO), the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), the National Troopers Coalition,the National Sheriffs’ Association, Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA), National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA), and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA).

“The Fraternal Order of Police applauds the recent reintroduction of the ‘Invest to Protect Act’ in the House. This crucial piece of legislation would establish a program within the U.S. Department of Justice to provide grants to small departments for their training, recruitment and retention, college tuition, and social services like therapy and treatment. Year after year, this bill has remained a priority of the FOP. We owe it to our smaller departments to better equip them with the tools they need to carry out their duties to the best of their ability as they work tirelessly to protect our communities. We appreciate the leadership of Representatives Gottheimer and Rutherford to introduce this bill in the House. We look forward to working closely with Congress to ensure this gets across the finish line,” said the Fraternal Order of Police. 

“On behalf of the National Tactical Officers Association and its over 40,000 members nationwide, I am proud to support the Invest to Protect Act,” said Thor Eells, Executive Director of the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA). “This bipartisan legislation is a needed step in providing critical training and equipment to smaller and rural police departments to help ensure the health, security, and safety of both law enforcement and the citizenry that they are sworn to protect.”